It is no surprise that, given the opportunity they have been eyeing for years is now presenting itself, the Golden State Warriors are putting together the best possible deal they can assemble for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In the end, that is expected to include some combination of Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, paired with first-round draft picks and one of the team’s most expensive contracts. That would be either the $54 million owed to Jimmy Butler or the $25.8 million owed to Draymond Green.
Neither of those options is all that appealing. Trade away Green in a package for Antetokounmpo and the Warriors would be dumping a 14-year veteran of the franchise, one who is close with Stephen Curry and helped the team to five championships. Trade away Butler, as he is recovering from an ACL surgery, and the Warriors would be saddled with especially poor optics.
Initial reports on the Warriors’ approach suggested that Butler would be the big outgoing piece. But veteran reporters Marc Stein and Jake Fischer warn we should pump the brakes on that.
Warriors May Be Forced to Trade Draymond Green
Here’s what the duo reported on the Warriors’ plan in Stein’s Saturday Substack article: “Another Antetokounmpo development that has emerged over the past 24 hours: We’ve heard further strong indications that the Warriors’ pursuit of Antetokounmpo is unlikely to involve Jimmy Butler’s contract. …
“So what does that mean for lifelong Warrior Draymond Green? It has long been assumed that a credible Golden State offer would have to include Green or Butler for salary-matching purposes.”
If it is Green who is included in the deal, the Warriors would almost certainly need to include a third (maybe a fourth, too) team because not only would Green be outgoing, but so would all three of the Warriors’ young players, and perhaps Buddy Hield, too.
It would be a megatrade, and harder to pull off it is Green who is on the block and not Butler.
Patience on Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade
One thing that the Stein Line indicated is something we have been hearing at Heavy Sports, too–the Bucks are happy to take in Antetokounmpo trade offers, but they are not feeling especially pressured to make their move this week, by the Warriors or anybody. There are advantages for the Bucks to wait, as teams can get their books in order and reset some of their future draft picks.
In doing so, Milwaukee can hope it will get a better offer.
But teams are telling the Bucks that their interest in Antetokounmpo might not extend into the summer, when teams’ luxury-tax and apron situations also reset. Some teams that make an Antetokounmpo deal in the summer rather than now could find themselves hard-capped at a lower number than they’d like.
It is complicated, no doubt. Still, a star like Antetokounmpo is on the market. Expect the Warriors to make their best move.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Warriors Preparing to Trade Draymond Green in Giannis Antetokounmpo Blockbuster appeared first on Heavy Sports.
